“Surprise and joy”

45 people start seven-year FPMT Master’s Program by Ven. Joan Nicell

Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa in Italy had to close registration for its new FPMT Master’s Program of Buddhist Studies, which starts in mid-January. To our great surprise and joy we received — and have accepted — 45 students into the program. At the puja to celebrate the opening of the program we will offer Geshe Jampa Gytso 1000 copies of the Italian translation of his book Everlasting Rain of Nectar, which has been entirely sponsored by his many disciples.

The Master’s Program staff slowly came together during the past few months. We have had the good fortune to find an excellent teaching assistant in Jampa Gendun, who was asked by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to accept this role. Jampa has been teaching and translating in the Australian centers for the past ten years and will be responsible for leading review classes, stimulating discussion teaching debate and training methods, and generally inspiring the students to put energy into understanding and integrating the philosophical subjects with their Dharma practice.

Our translator from Tibetan to English Thubten Sherab, is well-known to the FPMI for his years of work at Kopan Monastery, Nalanda Monastery and the FPMT centers in Spain. Sherab joined us in November an immediately began studying and preparing for his difficult job of translating Abhisamayalamkara, the text the program will use for the first two years. His boundless energy, good nature and belly-shaking laugh have already endeared him to the community.

Andrea Capellari, monk for many years and translator for lamas and geshes, including Ribur Rinpoche, is to be our translator from Tibetan into Italian. He too set to work with great enthusiasm and energy, dedicating his days to studying and translating the root text and commentary on Abhisamayalamkara into Italian. Andrea is well known and appreciated in Italy for his sharp intelligence and capacity to learn quickly and accurately.

In short, things are going very well. We managed to find several houses for rent in the nearby village for several months to house some program participants; others will be based here at the Institute. We are looking into the possibility of constructing ten wooden cottages on our property as a long-term solution to housing the students, and if all goes well these should be in place by the spring of this year.

With this auspicious gesture we will ask Geshe-la to go on teaching an ever-increasing number of disciples — as Lama Zopa Rinpoche so clearly said: we must plan for the Master’s Program to continue until every sentient being has been liberated from cyclic existence!